Scholars
by MochaSteven
Summary: Steven's in his second year of college, at Empire City University, and in the local coffee shop, comes across a girl by the name of Connie.
1. Chapter 1

_**Note: There's a lot of small details about this "coffeeshop au". First note is Steven is still a gem in this! Although he attended regular schooling (moderated by the Crystal Gems) so he had a frame of reference, and aged "normally" alongside his classmates as he went through school. In addition to school, the Gems taught him everything they knew. Pearl taught him how to use his mother's sword, her shield, all that. His first fusion was with Amethyst, not Connie (he's in college in this fic, and it's their first-time meeting). The reason I used coffeeshop au in quotations is it kinda strays out of the coffee shop as time goes on. In this fic, Steven is in his sophomore year of college at age 20 (he took a break year). Meanwhile Connie is a sophomore in College at age 19.**_

 _ **2nd Note: Huge thank you to Abel-Quartz for beta reading and helping make this chapter into what it is!**_

Steven rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with his free hand as he lumbered towards the doorway to the coffee shop near his dorm room. Ducking slightly to avoid the top of the doorway, he combed his hair back with his left hand to keep the curly mane out of his eyes.

His hands fished in his pockets, reaching for a hair tie. All he found was a couple dollar bills, some coins, a packet of gum, and the rubbery texture of an eraser. Steven bit his lip to keep from cursing, and attempted to control the kinky mess with both hands, enjoying a brief moment of clarity before the jungle obscured his reddened eyes once again.

 _Why did I agree to go on the "short" gem mission yesterday? I barely got 2 hours of sleep,_ he thought to himself, ordering his usual—large mocha, no whip. He moved to the nearest table and sat down, legs bent out slightly to avoid tilting the table with his knees.

With a yawn and a stretch, he leaned back in his seat and pulled out his phone, checking for any assignments that might have escaped his watchful eye. There were the usual sounds of the coffee machines, buzzes, whirrs, and occasional screeches from the old timey machinery. The place seemed to have one foot in the past, and one in the future. There were old paintings on one wall, and T.V. screens showing the news on the next. Faded green paint filled the walls, and wooden floor that creaked with the slightest movement. Eggshell white crown molding worked its way around the room, curving along the walls and riding the corner between the ceiling and the wall. Next to the cash register, there was a bright silvery frame that held glass in place, displaying every food that the coffee shop had to offer. Muffins, cookies, cakes, toasts, waters, juices, coffee beans, it was a wonder that the smells in the container didn't seep through the glass. While the front of the store was entirely of glass, it was early, and in the last breaths of summer; dim sunlight poured into the room, bathing the milky white tables in golden color. The cursive letter art reading "Empire Espresso Coffee," the brown letters blocking sunlight from passing behind them. The barista leaned back into the counter for a moment, giving an exasperated sigh.

As Steven's arms laid down on the table, phone in hand, he glanced above the little screen to see a girl about his age. She rummaged through her bag worriedly, squinting as she pulled a glasses case out, breathing a sigh of relief.

She wore slightly torn skinny jeans that revealed sepia skin underneath. A baggy hoodie several sizes too large hid her arms almost to the fingertips, and a beanie concealed much of her dark brown hair and held it out of her eyes. The girl prodded her glasses into place with a fingertip, nudging the frames up and down, side to side until the light refracted on the lenses, hiding her eyes from the world.

"Large mocha for Steven?" the barista called.

He hadn't realized he was staring, and chastised himself–how many times had Pearl told him staring was rude?

Steven looked away from the girl to the barista holding the large cup. He got up and strode over quickly, grabbing the cup and raising to his lips to take a sip. The barista deadpanned at Steven's gratification, and simply turned away and brushed coffee grounds off of his charcoal apron. Steven walked back to his seat and plopped himself down, the chair creaking under his weight as he adjusted.

Quickly, he raised his phone to the table once again, and began hurriedly texting friends for advice, but to no response. After waiting for what seemed like hours, the barista called the next name.

"Tall latte for…Cone-knee?" the barista called, staring at the scrawled writing on the cup.

The girl rolled her eyes and gave an exasperated sigh, walking up to get her latte. She received her coffee in a hurry, giving a shy nod and a quiet thank you, then sat down at the table next to Steven, and pulled a laptop out of her bag and began to type.

Steven sat frozen, unsure of what to say–or whether he should even talk at all. Thoughts raced through his head, his heart pounding a mile a minute. He wasn't even entirely sure if this is what romance felt like–if it was, what did he do? Act on impulse? Out of the question! Where would he even start? Was he too big? Did that make him look scary? He slumped in his seat, but then what if that made him seem shallow? Was he even sure about what he thought of her? What'd she think of _him?_ How would he–

"Uh...hello? Your foot is on my shoe…"

He felt something shimmy out from under his sandal.

"Oh! I–so sorry, um...hi–I'm Steven. Uhh, the barista uh–really butchered your name, didn't he. Cone-knee, am I right?" He reached out his hand and forced a laugh.

 _That was…horrible._ To his surprise, she gave a shy smile, reaching out her hand, mostly hidden by the sleeve of her mint-green hoodie, and gave his hand a tentative shake.

"It's pronounced Connie, but with how many people pronounce it wrong, I might as well change it.." she responded quietly, tilting her head and giving a polite smile. Steven grinned involuntarily, shocked at how warm his face felt at the simple gesture of kindness. Her shoulders hunched, as if she was trying to make herself smaller. She turned her face away towards her laptop and long black hair fell away from her ear. Steven noticed several piercings along the her ear; two studs of black-gray metal, and a thin rod of steel going in a diagonal line along the outside of her ear.

Steven felt himself blush as he laughed at her joke, nerves making his hair stand on end. Incomplete thoughts bubbled under the barrier of his lips as he muddled through what he could say, beginnings without endings, jokes without punchlines, answers without questions. In a rush, words spilled out of his mouth without purpose.

"So…what have you–er, what're you studying here?" Steven asked, leaning his elbow on the table. He fidgeted with a lock of hair between his thumb and index finger.

"Oh, I'm here for la—"

The table underneath Steven's elbow tilted under his weight, and he slipped out of his chair, crashing to the ground on his side, the table falling right beside him. His coffee cascaded down to the ground, spilling all over him, and the ground. People around the shop quickly turned towards him, staring at the giant of a man twisting on the ground as he sat up, staring at the coffee stain all over the front of his shirt.

"Steven! Are you okay?" Connie asked worriedly.

"Y-yeah—it's more comfortable down here, anyways," Steven laughed, hastily getting up, then stumbling for a moment from the coffee all over the ground.

"I'll help you out a bit, are you alright with that?" Connie asked as she raised from her seat slowly, and took half a step around the table.

"Yes, th-thank you."

Both the students knelt on the ground, wiping up the spilt coffee.

"Sorry, I didn't catch what you said you were studying, because of the…table malfunction." Steven said nervously, spreading napkins all over the bamboo flooring.

"Law, you?" Connie responded, giving a slight grin at Steven's terminology for the accident.

Steven was staring at the floor as he cleaned, hands dropping napkins over where the mocha had spread along the ground, then bundling them in a cautious grip to bring them to the trash. Instinctively, his arm moved to push hair out of his eyes, but he stopped when he remembered the sticky bittersweet drink covering his hand and sleeve; he resorted to blowing his hair out of his eyes, then tilted his face up to look at Connie to answer the question.

"Astronomy, you?"

Steven returned to cleaning the coffee immediately, continuing to spread around the napkins. There was a brief moment of silence between the students–neither of the students realized the error at first. Steven's movements came to a halt, and blush washed over his face.

"N-never mind, I already asked that."

Connie gave a slight giggle. "It's okay, I do stuff like that too."

She adjusted her glasses slightly, the light refracting and highlighting the flecks of hazelnut-gold color amidst her dark brown eyes. Steven couldn't help but stare or a moment, it was like stargazing to him.

"That kinda surprises me, though–most people are here for the law program." She said.

"I've always had more interest in what's up there than down here in a book, honestly. I've...always loved stargazing. P-probably something to do with my last name.." He exclaimed with a point towards the ceiling, then toward the ground beneath him.

"And what would that be..?"

"Universe, I know, I know–it sounds fake, but it's my actual last name, I swear."

Steven raised his hands jokingly, although he couldn't help but smirk as he realized there were things _much_ harder to believe about him than a weird last name. For just a moment, before he busied his hands cleaning the floor again, Steven's eyes lingered on Connie.

"Why does that name sound familiar…?" Connie mumbled, gazing off towards the tiles by her hand.

"Last year, I won nationals wrestling for the school–you might've read it in the campus newspaper, or the yearbook or something."

"Did you get a scholarship for it?"

"Yeah...it's a bit hectic juggling studying with the practice schedule, though."

They both gathered the coffee-scented napkins in their hands, cringing at the stickiness, and rose to walk them to the garbage.

"I bet it would be...I'm on a scholarship, too–well, a partial one. And for nothing nearly as impressive."

Steven reached for a few more napkins, and raised his shirt a bit to wipe it off, revealing the colorful gem where his naval would be, and the treasure trail going along his stomach underneath.

"What for?" he asked, pulling his shirt taut with one hand, then scrubbing with a napkin, to no avail. He tossed the napkin into the trash as he gave up on cleaning the coffee stain on his shirt.

"Academics…"

Connie trailed off as she noticed the pink glint of Steven's gem, but before she could ask, his shirt was lowered over it again. She assumed she had been seeing things.

"You _gotta_ teach me some study habits, I'm barely keeping my grades up as is."

Steven and Connie shared a light laugh, and Connie turned partially away, looking at the napkin container.

"Ah...I'm pretty sure you got better things to do."

"Not much, actually."

Connie's eyes widened in surprise a little bit, and she looked up at Steven. Their eyes met as they looked up from the napkin container, hands slowing to a halt as both students shifted to mimic the other, falling into a sort of rhythm.

"W-we should...probably finish cleaning the coffee…" Connie broke the pattern with a mutter and a look away.

Her voice was barely audible over the sounds of machinery, making caffeinated concoctions of every kind. They both walked back to continue cleaning. Neither noticed the other's blushing.

Both their heads raised as phone notifications danced in their ears. The simple songs jingled simultaneously, and both of the students hurriedly cleaned the last of the spilt coffee.

"I gotta go to class," they said in unison.

Both students paused for a moment after, realizing what had just happened. Steven stood, a bit shocked with himself. He didn't expect things to go so horribly–yet work out so perfectly. He pondered if she was feeling the same way–or if not, something similar, at the least. They both gave an awkward smile, and walked quickly to the door.

"After you?" Steven said, holding the door for Connie.

"Uhh...yeah, thanks."

Steven tilted his head, admiring the girl in front of him for a breath. He raised a hand to avoid looking aimless in looking, but only achieved an awkward half-wave.

"It was nice meeting you." Steven said.

"Y-you too!" Connie said a little too abruptly, and waved back.

Steven stood still for a moment, gazing as the girl shouldered her bag, textbooks rubbing against each other as the sack moved around. She brushed her hair out of her face, tucking it neatly into her beanie, then pulled the beanie down on her head slightly.

She seemed almost calm, comfortable. At ease...did he do it right? Does she like him back? As a friend, or as something else? Or was all this wrong and she was just tolerating him..

Connie turned away, walking with her bag pulled close over her shoulder, arms tucked close to take up as little space as possible. She walked quickly, with purpose–to get somewhere, without being seen. But Steven noticed what he thought was a skip in her step. He gave a wide grin and spun on his heel.

He silently thanked his lucky stars that the coffee spilled–if he drank the coffee and had that encounter, he'd be bouncing off the walls for days. Steven blew a couple stray locks of hair out of his eyes, and walked towards his class.

* * *

Steven laid in his bed, unable to fall asleep. Situations ran rampant in his mind–what'd he say the next day? Would he even see her again? How did he _forget_ to get a clean shirt? Thoughts buzzed in his head. He hadn't even payed attention in class–not that he had wanted to. His head was high in the clouds–hell, he had to stop himself from floating down the stairs to his dorm. A flash and a clang sounded as the young man summoned his shield, tossing it up above him and catching it while he laid.

He dissipated his shield, and with his hands reached up over his face, he couldn't help but squeal.

Steven's roommate, Nicki–and best friend since his freshman year of highschool, turned towards him. Confusion played on her face for a moment, and he noticed her lips shift to the side as she chewed the inside of her cheek. Brow furrowed in thought, she laid on her side, staring at the cloth of a glove on her hand. Her face brightened and she sat up as realization struck like a match.

"So who is it?"

"Her name's Connie, she's...amazing. I barely talked to her, but she...she's kind, and smart, and beautiful, and–" Steven stopped himself, and pushed his face into a pillow, giving another loud squeal.

Nicki gave an incredulous look. He was just as surprised as she was. Him? Talking to a crush? The only person he could comfortably talk to without a bit of nerves was Nicki. She was a sibling to him.

"And how'd talking with a big ball'a nerves like you go?" she asked with a sly grin.

"I–I uh..tipped a table leaning into it. My coffee spilled everywhere–" Steven pointed towards the brown stain "–and we talked as she helped me clean it up."

"I bet your gem glowed."

"It did _not–_ at least I...don't think it did."

Steven slipped his shirt off over his head, inspecting the medium-sized rose quartz stone inside his body. The mechanics of however the gemstone worked still confused him to this day, and while he'd learned to control it with the Crystal Gems, but there were still times where his gem had a mind of its own.

"You think I'd have a shot with her?" Nicki asked jokingly.

Steven gave a sarcastic look, and laughed.

"You would _never._ "

"Don't test me."

Steven gave a low laugh, and tilted his head. Steadily his giddy demeanor faded, and he laid back, eyelids heavy and hands under his head, hidden by the long locks of curly hair. As the adrenaline of the day faded, soreness from wrestling practice and the gem mission leapt to the forefront. He shifted in his bed with a low groan.

"In all seriousness, though–you talk about having a shot with her...but I'm not even sure _I_ have a shot with her."

"Steven–do you have _any_ idea how many girls had crushes on you in highschool?"

"Still."

Both the students laid in silence for some moments, thoughts buzzing through their heads. Before Nicki could think of anything else to say, quiet snoring came from Steven's bed. She sighed, a bit annoyed–she had been hoping to get more details out of him.

The room fell into a rhythm, Nicki's breaths slowing as she fell asleep as well. Creaks were heard overhead as students in other dorms walked around the building, and a couple unnerving thuds from neighboring rooms. Though through it all, students continued to sleep–not quite peacefully, too much stress from school for that. But sleeping nonetheless. Nicki's framed photos with friends, family, and pets. Steven had loved playing with her dog Molly, and the "playdates" he arranged between her and Lion made the two animals become fast friends. Her bedsheets were a mess, half the blanket hanging off of the mattress as Nicki slept. Her arms were wrapped around a pillow, her face buried in the softness.

On the other side of the room, there were photos of Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst, and his Dad. Along with Rose's Sword hanging on the wall, disguised as part of an eccentric samurai sword set. The only person who knew it wasn't plastic was Nicki. His left leg hung off the foot of his bed, his foot in the air, right bent slightly, foot resting up against the calf of his left leg. His right hand laid on his chest, fingers covering the body hair, sticky from the mocha-covered shirt. His left still laid beside his head, hidden in the swirling mess of hair.


	2. Chapter 2

Steven blinked the sleep out of his eyes as his phone alarm rang, the loud spaceship style buzzer pulling him out of slumber. He moved to get up, and felt every muscle in his body protest the movement, soreness still wrapping itself around him from head to toe.

With a suppressed groan, he stretched his arms out towards the ceiling as he lay, extending his arms as far as they'd go, then balling and relaxing his fists. He stretched his legs, pushing them out and arching his back, feet hanging off the edge of the bed, toes curled up as he stretched. Once the stretch was over, he laid still, his hand on his chest, feeling the steady rise and fall.

After several minutes of lying still, Steven quietly twisted in his bed; while his alarm had woken _him_ up, he didn't want to wake up Nicki. He rummaged through the pile of his clothes and belongings next to his bed, grabbing a towel, and making a mental note that he needed to better organize his clothing. With a pull, he produced a faded red shirt from the pile, a design of three stars flying across the front. Sifting through other clothing, he tucked the shirt under his arm, and grabbed a pair of blue jeans. Then wrapped them into a layer around the shirt, making a neat ball.

Steven opened his dorm room door and peeked outside. Most students in the long hall of dorm rooms opted out of morning classes, and chose to take the courses that started later in the day. Clad in only boxers and carrying a towel balled around his clothes, Steven hopped, floating just an inch above the ground. He knew most wouldn't wake up at the creaks of his footsteps, but still decided to try and avoid making noise entirely for the sake of the light sleepers. As Steven's feet brushed along the ground, transitioning to a brisk walk, Steven turned into the showers. Each dorm was allotted a shower to be shared between roommates.

Steven hung his clothing on the silver railing outside his shower stall, and gave a quick scan of the room—empty, like it always was at this hour. Steven slid his boxers down to his ankles, then kicked the undergarment up to his hands and hung it on the railing with the rest, a shiver running up his spine as the cold air met with his skin. He opened the stall door, stepping into the shower, seeing the small ledge with both his and Nicki's shampoos, conditioners, and soaps. He stared at the shower head with a deadpan; the damn thing was level with his chest. However used he was to shapeshifting, he still didn't enjoy having to do it in order to use a shower. He closed his eyes for a moment and focused, imagining himself about a foot shorter. A pink glow burst into his vision from under his eyelids, and when he opened his eyes, the shower head stood an inch or two above his head.

He turned the water on, his eyes focused off to the side, picking through whatever new shampoo or conditioner Nicki had bought for herself, and trying to find his own strawberry-scented shampoo, soap, and a comb, however, with Nicki's permission, he did use her shampoos and conditioners.

Freezing cold water hit his skin moments after he found his comb, the shock making his whole body jump, the numerous bottles fell to the floor as his body spasmed momentarily, arm sweeping across the ledge. Trembling from the cold, Steven pressed his body into the corner of the shower stall, keeping most of his body out of the arctic torrent that was flowing from the showerhead. Cautiously, he shimmied his toe into the falling water, feeling it rise in temperature until he could comfortably stand in the stream.

Steven picked the bottles up from the floor one by one, steam and water wafting around his body as the shower ran. He heard the drain as water flowed over his back, then down his legs to the floor. After the last of the bottles was back in its proper place, Steven stood up, pulling a comb through his hair. The water loosened the knotted mess before the comb unraveled the tangled locks, a somewhat trackable direction appearing as the comb worked out the kinks. As he finished combing his hair, he poured the strawberry scented shampoo into his hand, and ran his fingers through the jungle, bubbles rising and the sweet scent working its way through the stall. With a quick rinse, the suds in his hair fell down onto his shoulders, the pink-tinted foam sliding down his body.

His hand closed around the knob, pushing it down to cease the steady flow of warm water. Steam crept out from under the shower stall door, and Steven opened it slightly, shivering—the air was cold to begin with, and now felt frigid after the shower. He reached out, grabbing the towel, and closing the door quickly, keeping as much warmth inside the stall as he could. As he ran the towel over his body, drying off the water, he stopped shapeshifting himself shorter, his head rising above the walls of the shower stalls once again. Thankfully, the room was still empty except for him. Once Steven dried off, he wrapped the towel around his waist, opening the shower door completely, steeling himself for the cold. Goosebumps rose on his body as the cold air washed over him, and he quickly slipped the shirt and pants on in an attempt to defend himself against the chill.

He walked, still trembling slightly from the cold, towards the sink assigned to his room, pulling his rosy-pink toothbrush out of the container, and putting a small minty green blob of toothpaste onto the bristles. Scrubbing the toothbrush against his teeth, he tasted the mint as it mixed with his saliva and formed a white foam that filled his mouth. After he'd washed his teeth clean, he spat the excess toothpaste into the sink, then cupped his hand to collect water, raising it to his mouth and swishing it around, then spat that into the sink as well. He looked at his face in the mirror for a moment, baring his teeth in the mirror to check for anything that might have stuck in his teeth; he hadn't brushed his teeth the night before.

Satisfied that he had cleaned up, he rolled up his left sleeve, checking that his tattoo hadn't faded. To his relief, the rose flower tattoo was there in its entirety, clearly visible underneath the slight bits of hair on his shoulder. The petals illustrated falling away, as if becoming part of his skin, and the stem of the rose snaked down around his arm, tracing around his bicep., vines spiraling off in places. Thorns followed the length of the stem, making the vine look akin to barbed wire as the green plant was illustrated working its way into his body. Steven was glad that the tattoo had worked out—he knew that normally, tattoos took years to fade, but he also knew that male anatomy had an average height of 5'11; being 7'1, his gem definitely got rid of that hope. He wasn't sure if healing spit affected how ink would stay on his skin; with a magic rock as a belly button, he never really knew what was considered normal in his life or not.

Steven rolled his sleeve back down, covering the intricate tattoo, and walked to the exit. As before, he jumped and silently floated over the ground as to avoid waking the light sleepers, and raised his hand to the door handle of his room. The door creaked slightly as his room opened, and he saw Nicki laying in her bed, playing a game on her phone.

"Sup." She said, eyes not moving from her phone.

"G'morning—I'm gonna head out a bit early today, and see if I can talk to Connie again at Empire."

Nicki paused her game and looked at Steven, eyebrows raised.

"Two days in a row! Go you, man—where's this confidence boost comin' from?"

Steven strode towards the pile of his clothes, and rummaged through the pile for a hair tie. He'd answer, but he was busy with trying to find a way to look _presentable_ with Connie this time. Fishing through the pile of clothes, he found his usual black hair tie, the elastic worn from repeated use. He continued sifting through the pile, looking for at least another two hair ties—if he used any fewer, they always broke.

After a couple minutes of silence, as Steven searched for hair ties, Nicki hadn't said a word. He assumed that she gave up on her question and returned to her game from the sounds of frustration or euphoria coming from her direction. Steven's fingers closed around a pair of hair ties, wrapped around each other in a simple knot. With a slight tug at his hair, Steven collected all of the locks into a fist, and wrapped it with a hair tie, then two more. When he let go, his hair billowed out from the restraint of the hair ties, making a ponytail of curly hair. Steven stood still for a moment, thinking about anything he may have forgotten. He dug his hand into his pockets and his fingers closed around a fourth hair tie, and he reached behind his head, adding it to the others; he didn't want to risk them breaking any time soon.

Before he left, Steven slipped on an old hoodie, the gray-blue fabric tracing the contour of his shoulders and arms. He began to zip it up, then stopped when he felt the tightness on his gem. _Well, it is an old hoodie,_ he thought to himself, irked that a five-year long growth spurt still continued.

"Well I'm gonna head out, see ya Nicki!" Steven called over his shoulder as he walked out of his dorm.

"See ya, _nerd,_ " Nicki said.

Steven closed the door behind him slowly to avoid slamming it, and briskly walked towards the exit stairway. His class was upstairs, but he wanted to get another chance to talk to Connie, so he slid down the railing, and opened the door, ducking to avoid hitting his head. There was a chilly morning breeze, a couple fallen leaves sliding along the ground, heavy fog lifted slowly, and dewdrops covered every leaf and blade of grass in sight. Autumn colors had begun to work their way into all the life on the campus. It was September, after all.

Empire Espresso Coffee had just opened as Steven arrived, and he walked inside. He greeted James, the usual barista, with a smile.

"Morning Steven! You're early today! Something big going on?" he asked with a beam.

"Uh, there's actually this girl I'm trying to catch here. Her name's Connie."

James's smile stayed on his face, but Steven could've sworn he saw his hands squeeze the mop in his hand, arms tense for just half a moment. Before he could ask, James had relaxed again, and began chattering once more.

"Ooh, that's _great!_ I can't wait to meet her! Is she coming here?"

"That's the plan, but I'm not sure. I made a bit of a fool out of myself when I saw her yesterday."

"Aidan told me about that! Ugh, that guy is _such_ a whiner—but that was you?" James asked with a laugh.

"Yeah, not exactly a great first impression."

James continued mopping the floor, turning away from Steven, his grin remaining unbroken. As he diligently walked around, cleaning the coffee shop, Steven sat down at a table, cautiously resting his arms on it, this time. For a few minutes, he sat, bouncing his knee and twirling a lock of hair that had escaped his hair tie. The small group of strands forming a curl that spiraled off from the side of his forehead. Each time the door opened, Steven whipped his head around to see if it was Connie before the entrance bell even stopped ringing.

"Any luck?" James asked from behind the cash register, scrubbing the counter with a rag.

Steven took a deep breath through his nose, then exhaled through his mouth, and looked out the window. Twirling the free lock of hair around his finger, he turned back towards James and raised his hand to prop his face up, tilting his head as his cheek rested in his hand.

"Not yet."

Steven thumped his head on the table, arms splayed across to the other side to balance the weight. He hadn't heard the door open for what felt like hours, and his bubbly nature from the morning was quickly ebbing away as soreness and sleep deprivation worked its way into his limbs once again. He yawned, and raised his arms into the air with a stretch, the fabric of his hoodie straining slightly against the bulge of his shoulders as he moved.

The door opened, and the jingle of the bell rang in Steven's ears. He turned, and saw Connie again. She wore jeans, and a pair of fuzzy boots that went about one-fourth of the way up her leg. Along with an all-white sweater, save for the navy blue star design circling around it, at about belly button height. A smile spread across Steven's face like honey, and he waved. She waved back, but he couldn't tell if she had said hello back, the minty green scarf over her shoulders covered her mouth.

"Connie! Hi!"

The girl's eyes sparkled and tilted her head. She lowered her scarf a touch with her finger, and mumbled hello back. At least he thought it was hello—he wasn't the greatest at reading lips, and she said it too quietly. She walked up to James at the counter, and ordered what he assumed was the same latte she had ordered yesterday. Steven bit his lip to keep from cursing; he was sitting aimlessly at a table in a coffee shop, trying to act normal—and he forgot to get coffee _._

The girl practically skipped to the table Steven sat at, sitting down and crossing her legs under the table.

"Steven! Hi! Funny seeing you here, huh? It's—it's been...a while..."

Her voice trailed off and she blushed, clearing her throat and forcing an embarrassed laugh. Her gaze averted away from his eyes. She moved her hands into her lap, slouching a bit, and her hair, which had been tucked into a dark green beanie, slipped out and fell over her face.

"Well I guess it's my turn to miss speak, then," she mumbled, mostly to herself.

"Hey, twenty-four hours is a pretty long time. It's crazy how time like...passes."

"So what brings you here? I don't see a mocha, and there's no sign of a spill."

Connie still hadn't looked up from her hands, fidgeting with the sleeves of her sweater, the cloth nearly covering her arms to her fingertips yet again. Steven tilted his head, forgetting he was mid-conversation for a moment, then realized she had asked a question.

"I waited for you."

Steven's eyes widened as he realized how creepy what he said had sounded. He immediately began backtracking, attempting to fix the error.

"I don't mean—I didn't mean that in the weird way—I swear. I waited for you in the _least_ weird way possible. I prom—"

"Steveeeeeeen!" James yelled, walking around the counter with a grin.

Connie jumped slightly with a frightened look as she turned towards the barista, staring at James.

"James, hi! This is Connie!" Steven said, gesturing towards the girl.

"That's great, but how've you been? We haven't talked in ages!" James said.

Steven tilted his head in confusion. Hadn't they talked earlier this morning? Or was he just imagining things? Did he possess someone else and think it was him?

"I thought we talked like an hour ago?" Steven muttered.

"You must've been imagining things—you look tired."

Connie stared at Steven as James leaned onto the table, invading her space as she shifted away, fidgeting in her chair as his back pressed into her shoulder.

"James, there's a bit of a line at the register, shouldn't you get some of the orders out of the way?" Steven said.

James turned away from Steven, eyes facing towards the short line that had formed behind the cash register. He slid off the table, and gave a wink at Steven as he made his way behind the counter. Steven blinked in confusion, then turned back to the girl. Connie breathed a sigh of relief, and gave Steven a weak smile. Steven returned the grin, and gave James a sidelong look, squinting as the barista served the next customer, a wide grin plastered onto his face.

Connie's gaze lingered on James, her eyebrows raised, she blinked, then turned back towards Steven. A smile spread on her lips as she looked at Steven, morning sunlight sparkling in her eyes.

"Where were we before...that?" Steven asekd.

"Something about you waiting for me?"

Steven blushed again, eyes averted, and he hunched his shoulders with a nervous laugh. He leaned to the side and raised his hand behind his head, scratching at the base of his ponytail.

"Latte for Connie!" James called, slinking back to the table, holding a platter with the mug of coffee on top.

The silver platter tilted towards Connie, the mug of hot coffee sliding on the platter as it cascaded forwards. The white mug lurched off the edge of the platter, falling down and pouring all over Connie. She yelped as the hot coffee spread over her white sweater, gasping as she backed away from James and got up, holding the front of her sweater off her skin to keep it from burning.

"Oh, silly me."

Steven stared in disbelief, thoughts stalling as he processed what happened. He stared blankly at Connie, hurriedly trying to take off the burning hot sweater, and James, covering his mouth and apologizing, but eyes with a glint that showed pride in his actions. Dots connected in Steven's mind—James had been trying to hurt Connie! First, he had tried to make her uncomfortable and shove her out of the way, and now he suddenly thought it was okay to spill hot coffee on her? Steven's nostrils flared as he whirled his face from Connie to James.

"What the hell is your problem?!"

"It was an accident I _swear_ —" James began before covering his mouth to hide a smile.

Steven balled his fists tightly, and tensed in his seat. His knuckles turned white as his hands tightened further, fingernails pressed against the palm of his hand. Steven's brow furrowed from rage as he tilted his head. As he spoke, he tried not to yell, but he still heard his own voice get louder as his anger reached a boiling point.

"Are you _sure_ that was an accident? Because you've been acting like this all damn day. And from the looks of it, you've been trying to _hurt Connie!_ "

"But it w—"

Steven rose in his seat, towering over the barista. He had half a mind to raise a fist, but he knew that this was quite possibly the worst time for a fight. James's eyes widened as Steven rose to his full height, and shuffled away half a step. Steven crossed his arms furiously, hoodie straining against the muscle and flesh moving beneath the cloth.

"No! No it fucking wasn't. It wasn't a 'mistake.' You're just being a bully. Now get the _hell_ away from us!"

James stumbled away, and Steven stormed forwards, getting the rat to scurry off back behind the counter. Steven felt stares on his back, but he was too enraged to care. He heard the whispers of disbelief, and jokes that circled around him; though he'd gotten used to the whispering—it'd followed him since high school.

 _Is he on stilts?_

 _That guy's huge._

 _I thought Jack killed the giant.._

 _I wanna be that tall!_

Steven's chest heaved as he took a deep breath, attempting to cool off. He gave James another fiery eyed glare, and turned back towards Connie, who was already speedwalking to the door. Steven's head tilted with sympathy, and before he followed her outside, he gave another scowl, eyes brimming with hatred.

The door behind him opened and slammed closed, and Steven turned to see the girl almost running towards the dorms, shivering as she carried her ruined white sweater in hand—the blue t-shirt and jeans didn't do much justice against the cold. Steven strode to the door, ducking through and following behind.

"Connie, wait! I—I'm sorry about what James did, he's a jerk."

Connie spun around, bleary eyed as tears filled her eyes. Her breath formed small clouds in front of her face, billowing up into the air.

"Why would he be _nice_ to me?! Nobody is! I'm just the girl—the girl who sits in the corner with her nose in a book!"

"Connie, there's nothing wrong with having your nose in a book—and you're so much more than that, anyways. You're smart, kind, funny, and funny." Steven said.

 _And beautiful,_ he thought to himself.

Connie opened her mouth to talk, but bit her lip, turning her face to the ground as she cried silently. Steven walked towards Connie slowly, trying to let Connie be as comfortable as possible. The girl saw his feet as he got closer, and she looked up at his face. He gave a comforting smile, extending a hand, meaning it as an offer to hold her sweater.

Connie quickly stepped closer to him, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. Steven's heart leapt in his chest as he felt her grip, and he was frozen in shock for a moment before he returned the hug. Connie pulled away, and Steven couldn't help it as a honeydew-sweet grin spread across his face.

"Damn it.." Connie muttered.

She bit her lip again as she began walking away from the dorms.

"What's wrong?" Steven asked.

"Th-that was my last s-sweater."

Steven immediately slipped his hoodie off his shoulders, and handed it to Connie, the "Uh, here. This hoodie barely fits me anyways—it's super old.."

Her voice still trembling a bit from her tears from earlier, the girl protested the offer.

"N-no, I shouldn't y-you've gotta be out i-in the cold t-too—"

"It's alright, I've got other sweaters in my dorm."

The morning breeze kicked up for a moment, and Connie shivered, then looked at the hoodie in Steven's offering hand. She mumbled her thanks and wrapped it over her shoulders, using it more like a blanket than a hoodie. She gave a bit of a forced laugh.

"I-It's a bit big on me.."

"It'll shrink in the wash."

They shared a quiet laugh, and Steven turned his head back to the coffee shop, giving another furious look at James through the window. He turned back to Connie, who was reaching an arm through a sleeve of his enormous hoodie. With a tilt of his head, the free strands of hair bobbed in the corner of his vision. A small smile played on his face as he realized the coincidence.

"That's two coffee-related incidents in there, now," Steven chuckled.

"Y-yeah, that's—yeah."

"Uh...maybe we could talk outside the coffeeshop? Like over the phone or somethin'?"

The girl's eyes widened a little, and she raised her hands to her face as she slipped her glasses off, and wiped her eyes free of tears. As she shifted her glasses back into place with her left hand, she reached into her pocket with her left, pulling out a phone. For a moment she typed with both fingers, he assumed it was setting up most of the other contact info. She extended her arm, handing the phone to Steven.

"H-here you go," Connie mumbled.

"Uh...nice case?"

The students both laughed again. Steven chastised himself for floundering such a simple joke, but was glad that she had laughed at it. After he had typed in his number, he noticed his contact name. It was "Steven" with a wrestler emoji alongside it. He grinned to himself, pride swelling in his chest.

"I'm gonna grab myself a new sweater from my dorm, you keep that one, okay?" Steven said.

"Oh, I—I get to keep this? I-it's a gift?" Connie asked.

A strawberry sweet smile spread across Steven's face as he gave a nod. Before he turned back to the dorms, he gave a quick wave. Connie waved, her whole arm engulfed by the sleeve of her new hoodie.

Steven ducked through the doorway, bounding up the stairs, trying to keep himself from floating to his dorm room.

* * *

Steven sat on the floor of the lecture room, jotting down notes with the last desperate breaths of a pencil. He was always a little annoyed to hear snores coming from the students around him; it was astronomy, what was there not to enjoy? The class let him stargaze to chart the skies, track orbits and galaxy formation patterns. Planets, nebulae, quasars, asteroid systems - he never found himself bored with the class.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. Usually he'd disregard it and continue taking notes—but he didn't know if Connie was the type to text in class. Seconds passed as Steven resisted the temptation to check, yet curiosity and other feelings he couldn't quite identify screamed in his head to look at the message. He gave a sigh as he caved, and fished inside his pocket, producing his cell phone. For a moment, he questioned his own sanity. Steven? Goofing off in his favorite class? What'd gotten into him? He gazed at the bright little screen, still slightly shocked at himself, and read the notification.

 _Thanks for the hoodie! Its rly comfy ^-^_

Steven's face reddened as he read the text. It wasn't much, but he was happy that he had done something to improve Connie's day. While Steven knew he should have looked away and continued taking notes, the ever-rising feeling that he just couldn't identify pushed him to respond. With a swipe, Steven unlocked his phone and typed a quick response.

 _Haha I'm glad I could help u! ^_^7_

Before he hit enter, he considered. Was that too formal? Too casual? Would the face come off as flirty? Did he _want_ to be flirty? What if the text didn't go through once he hit enter? Did he leave read receipts on? Thoughts buzzed around Steven's head as he pondered the text. He jabbed the send button before he could stop himself. Moments later, his phone buzzed again, another text from Connie.

 _It's also rlllllyy big jfkds o_o_

Steven tilted his head at his phone. What was "jfkds," and why did she type it? Did he ask? He didn't see the harm in asking.

 _? what is 'jfkds'_

Seconds later, his phone got another message.

 _,,its a keyspam like when u find someth funny or when u laugh you say 'FJDKASLEJ'_

Steven paused for a moment, twirling a free lock of hair.

 _Oh..haha. I mean kjsjdsa._

 _FJDKSLE?_

 _Jdksajel._

 _Fdkjalske!_

 _Fjklajslkesjdjsjf!_

Steven smiled to himself as he and Connie just sent key spams with different punctuation at the end. He was sure they both had classes to pay attention to, and he knew for certain he wasn't paying attention to his, but he was happy. Things were going well, and even if he and Connie only ended up as friends, he was okay with that.

Just knowing her was enough for him.


End file.
